His marriage may be on the rocks but how rich is Johnny Depp? (and will Vanessa Paradis get a cut?)

Forbes calculated Johnny Depp to be Hollywood’s second highest paid actor in 2012, earning $30million. In the latest in our series on celebrity money, we look at how Depp made his millions.

He may have played some strange roles but Depp's got his head screwed on when it comes to cash.

Born in 1963, the actor first became a teen idol due to his role on 1980s TV show 21 Jump Street.

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Johnny Depp playing Captain Jack Sparrow in 2006

He soon moved to the big screen,
specialising in quirky oddball characters such as the title characters
in Edward Scissorhands and What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

£110M FOR VANESSA - THE 'WIFE'HE NEVER WED

Johnny Depp’s former partner Vanessa Paradis, 38, is set to receive half of Depp’s hundreds of millions.

French singer, actress and former Chanel
model is most recognised for her 14 year relationship with Depp.

Although they never married, there are claims that Depp will be handing
over half of his $350million (£225million) wealth over to the French beauty.

Vanessa first received global attention
at the age of 13, with the pop hit ‘Joe le taxi’. Since then she has
been the face for Chanel and was awarded Best Actress at the 2012 Genies
(Canada’s equivalent to the Oscars).

Some would say this is expected of Depp,
as she is the mother to Depp’s two children and has built her own
career separate to that of her partners.

Depp is one of the highest paid actors
in the world; his annual salary varies from $30million to $100million
thanks to many of his successful films. In particular Pirates of the
Caribbean, which has contributed to a yearly box office gross of around
$7.6.billion worldwide.

Not only will Paradis be walking away with Depp’s money, she will own half of the properties they once shared together.

Properties like their $2million (£1.2million)
farmhouse in France which they brought their two children, 13 year old
Lilly-rose and 10 year old Jack up in will now belong to Paradis.

Other
box office success added to his coffers, including roles in Sleepy
Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the hugely successful
Pirates of the Caribbean series – the first three films grossed more
than $2.7billion (£1.65billion).

Depp
was paid £21million to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the
fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film On Stranger Tides, released last
year. It made him the highest earner that year but failed to surpass the
£38million paid to Harrison Ford to come back for a fourth Indiana
Jones film.

However, Depp, the son of a waitress and a civil engineer, came from humble beginnings.

His family moved more than 20 times
during his childhood before settling in Florida. Family problems led him
to self-harm as a child.

His parents divorced when Depp was a teenager and soon after he dropped out of school to become a rock star.

After modest local success with various bands he started to concentrate on his acting career.

Despite being known for shunning publicity, Depp's personal life has hit the headlines on numerous occasions.

He had a short-lived marriage to a make-up artist in the 1980s and went on to date actresses Winona Ryder, Sherilyn Fenn and Jennifer Gray, as well as model Kate Moss.

Between 1993 and 2004, Depp part owned the Viper Room nightclub in Hollywood, made infamous after fellow actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose in 1993.

In 1998 Depp began dating Vanessa Paradis, the couple where together for 14 years until they amicably split earlier this month.

Paradis, 39, and Depp, 49, never exchanged vows, but Depp has decided to hand over half of his fortune to the mother of his two children. This is set to be one of the biggest pay-offs between a non-married couple. The speculations is that Vanessa will receive more than $150million.

As part of his quest for privacy, in 2004 Depp bought a private island in the Caribbean for $3.6million (£2.2million). Little Halls Pond Cay is about 60 miles south of Nassau in the protected Exuma Land and Sea Park.

Depp has properties in LA, Hawaii and England and earlier this year snapped up the Palazzo Donà Sangiantoffetti Palace in Venice, Italy for a reported $13.8million (£8.4million).

Depp is clearly rich and handsome but he also demonstrates compassion. In 2008 he donated $2million (£1.3million) to Great Ormond Street Hospital after his daughter Lily-Rose, then aged eight, was treated for kidney failure there.

In 2009, he played Heath Ledger's
character in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus after Ledger died following
an accidental overdose.

Alongside
Jude Law and Colin Farrell, Depp donated his fee for the film to
Ledger's daughter Matilda who was left out of her father's original
will.